1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical boxes, such as switch boxes, junction boxes and outlet boxes used in domestic wiring applications. More particularly, the present invention relates to electrical boxes that contain conductive elements therein that interconnect with incoming wires and remove the need to couple individual wire strands within the box with tape or wire nuts.
2. Prior Art Statement
Most building codes require that all electrical junctions, outlets and switches in a domestic application must be contained within some form of fire retardant box. Traditionally, such boxes are made of metal or polyvinylchloride (PVC) and contain various punch-out structures that enable a variable number of wires to be led into the box. Such traditional boxes typically also include some form of clamp that engages the incoming wires and prevents the wires from being inadvertently pulled out of the box. Besides the clamp, traditional boxes do not engage the incoming wires. Rather, the sole function of traditional boxes is to shield the various incoming wires while the wires are interconnected by other means.
When wiring a domestic application, often wires of different gauge sizes and construction must be joined. For instance, solid 12 gauge wire must often be coupled with much thinner braided wire, or multiple thin wires must be joined to a much thicker common wire. The preferred method of joining various wires in a traditional box is through the use of Wire Nuts. Wire Nuts work well when joining two like wires, however they are very difficult to use in joining wires of differing gauges and construction. Consequently, such junctions must often be soldered or taped prior to the application of the Wire Nut. Both the professional and amateur electrician often experience difficulty in connecting a number of solid stiff wires to a number of stranded wires and being sure that all the wires are properly interconnected. Soldering and pretaping the wires are time consuming and are therefore rarely used. Accordingly, just the Wire Nut is relied upon to maintain the connection. These interconnections commonly fail as the wires are folded and forced into the confined space of a traditional wiring box.
Over the years many devices have been invented in an attempt to simplify the wiring of difficult types of electrical boxes. However, these prior art devices are typically application specific, and can only be used as either a switch box, an outlet box or a junction box. Prior art devices that show simplified outlet boxes are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,651 to Werner, entitled MINIMUM WIRE BOX AND DEVICE ADAPTERS; U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,443 to Figart, entitled POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM and U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,418 to Hoag, entitled LAMINATED JUNCTION BOX MODULE AND LAMINATED PLUG-IN ACCESSORY MODULES SELECTIVELY USABLE THEREIN. Such prior art devices do not require Wire Nuts to connect wires. However, special outlet terminals must be used making the overall systems highly undesirable.
Examples of prior art junction boxes are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,443,162 to Nudelmont, entitled CURRENT DISTRIBUTOR; U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,425 to Cade, entitled ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR APPARATUS; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,617,612 to Patton, entitled ELECTRICAL JUNCTION MEANS. Each of these junction boxes eliminates the needs for Wire Nuts, however each is dedicated in its use and cannot be used as an outlet box or a switch box.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a wiring box assembly that can be used as either a junction box, outlet box or switch box in a manner that does not require incoming wires to be bound by a Wire Nut, solder or tape.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a box assembly that can be used as an outlet box or switch box without requiring a specially formed switch assembly or outlet.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a box assembly that has a provision for a local disconnect of the power instead of having to trace the circuit and disconnecting the circuit at the main breaker panel.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide such a box assembly that is easy to use, easy to install and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.